Trick or Treat
by Werepuppy Black
Summary: Mildred Hubble returns to Cackles to start her teaching career. A wizard is also making his way there, to teach a special course. He is polite, well mannered, and respectable. Hardbroom, of course, doesn't approve. Mildred ... doesn't know what to think.
1. Chapter 1

_**A/N:**_ _My first mutli chaptered fic that happens to encompass Worst Witch, Weirdsister College, and the New Worst Witch. I've been planning this one for a while, so hopefully I will be able to get it done. I'll admit it now, I don't think this will have long chapters, but I will try my best. Also: if you have seen the New Worst Witch, you'll recognise a name from the episode this one is named after. I will openly admit it was the inspiration, but I'm not going say how it changes. Okay, so read, and review please, with constructive criticism being taking in helpfully._

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**Trick or Treat**

**Chapter One**

It was rather hard to believe it, but after seven years, Mildred Hubble was back at Cackle's Academy for Witches, on her placement all newly qualified witch teachers were expected to get. Oddly enough, Pentangles had expressed an interest in having her amongst their esteemed ranks, but when she received word that Cackles would be more than happy to have Mildred, there was no competition.

It was odd to think on it really, how far she'd come in the intervening time, and when it came down to it, it wasn't just her, it was everyone she knew. Jadu was a rapidly rising intrepid reporter wanted by all the very best papers and if rumour was right even some news stations; Enid's creativity had been a boon when she was accepted at Witch University in Boston, allowing her high grades in her course and starting her own business - Magic Make-Over was rapidly growing. Ruby had went straight for a science course, and specialised in … some form of science that Mildred couldn't even hope to understand. She was working towards a PhD, according to her last letter. As for Maud, well, she had turned her artistic designs to home design, and her company was 'keeping her comfortable' in her own words.

Even those she had started out with at Weirdsisters were doing well. Dee had been through her placement at Salamanders, before finding a permanent position at Cackles; Mildred realised with a smile that this meant she would be reunited with her friend again. Cas had returned to Canada, looking towards a career in the healing magics. Tim and Azmat had teamed up with Ben to look into creating a range of electronic devices that didn't go haywire in the presence of magic; instead they were powered by magic. It had been going over fairly well; they were currently in Tokyo pitching the idea to a rather important company. If they liked the ideas; the three boys would be set for the rest of their lives.

That's not to say that didn't hurt a little. The idea had come about early on in her second year at Weirdsisters, and Ben, Tim and Azmat had taken to spending every spare moment in each other's company to work on it. Combined with their increasingly busy schedules, and contrasting work shifts, it got a point where Mildred and Ben could go a whole week without having seen each other. Not that they noticed, no, in all their hurry, neither really noticed their relationship falling to the side. The split had been fairly friendly; they still exchanged letters and phone calls, but Mildred had to admit it still stung a little. Especially when it seemed like Ben and Ethel were getting more friendly as of late.

Ah Ethel, there was one who had landed on her feet with no problem. She had left Weirdsisters with top honours, and went straight into Harvard to gain an MBA. She was now heading the American branch of All Hallows Enterprises. She was always going to be the one to succeed, as much as Mildred may have secretly entertained the hope of it not happening. The only person still at Weirdsisters was Nick Hobbes, and he had only returned this year to do research into a theory which he was keeping quiet about except to those who needed to know.

Mildred sighed. All of her friends were busy with their post-education lives, and now it was time for her to do the same. By going back into education, ironically. Adjusting her hat just slightly, she picked up her bag and broom, and walked through the gates of Cackle's Academy once more.

* * *

"Well, I dare say you won't need the usual tour of the school," Amelia Cackle smiled at Mildred, "some rooms have changed about a little, but we're still the same old castle." she added. Mildred gave her own nervous smile back, her fingers twisting the sleeves of her sedate deep purple top - which she had thought quite nice, and professional looking, but had drawn a disapproving glare from Miss Hardbroom. "Well, now, do you have any questions?"

"Erm, yes," Mildred started hesitantly, but she found her voice dying in her throat as Miss Hardbroom spoke over her.

"I have a comment, Miss Cackle, if I may." Miss Cackle nodded. "While I do not doubt that Mildred has reached all the necessary qualifications-" interestingly enough, though she would never admit it, Constance had been fully supportive of Mildred starting out her teaching career at Cackles, "- I wonder if it is wise to have her teach young Henrietta's form." There was a small pause, as Amelia nodded for her to continue. "The girl is unruly at the best of times, having her cousin in charge may only encourage her onwards."

Mildred bit her lip, she hadn't actually considered this. "I don't think she would try anything too bad," she said, though there was a tone of uncertainty in her voice. "After all, she knows school is a different place to home."

"I believe you have a point, Mildred," Amelia said, nodding. "But I also believe you have a point, Constance. However, I think it unfair to the rest of the form to deny them the chance to be in lesson taught by the new teacher." Constance started at this, but Amelia held up her hand. "You know fine well that they will protect, the girls so very rarely see anyone new around here, we shall simply have to hope that Henrietta wishes to impress her cousin and sets a good example."

"If you say so, Headmistress," came Constance's reply. She picked up the exercise books from the desk which she had been marking. "But I sincerely hope you know what you are doing. First Mildred, and then that _man_," she shook her head, leaving the staff room. Mildred frowned.

"That man?" she questioned. Amelia sighed, removing her glasses to sit them atop her head.

"We had a letter from a very respectable wizard who wishes to come and take a special course with the girls in the weeks upcoming to Halloween, after which he will leave," she explained. "Usually I would refuse such an offer, but … he is _very _respectable. He has turned down so many other schools, and he never makes the offer himself."

"So really you had no choice," Mildred said, understanding the position. "Which wizard was it, can I ask?" Amelia allowed a small chuckle, after all this time, and Mildred Hubble was still a curious little thing.

"You may have heard of him, he wrote Treasures of Sorcery, now what was his name?" There was a brief pause as she recalled the name. "Oh yes, I remember now, Richard Avalon."


	2. Chapter 2

**_A/N:_**_ Oh dear. Well, this took far longer than I thought it would. I... really have no excuse to give you, dear readers. I can only apologise, and present you with this new chapter, and hope that the next will not take as long._

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**Chapter Two**

"_Dear Maud, _

_Well, here I am, back at Cackles! It's extreme in such a surreal way – who'd ever think that I'd be a teacher of all things?It's been lovely so far though, all the girls are really interested in what I'm teaching them, though I'm sure we were never as chatty as they are. Oh, well, perhaps we were a bit. Dee's teaching here too – Miss Drill married Serge a few years back, and left the school shortly after. Apparently they've opened a camp; Cackles girls can go during half-term, I've heard. Don't think HB was much pleased about that, but is she ever?_

_But, yes, what should I tell you?"_

Mildred's first week as a teacher had went by so quickly, she could hardly think where to begin to explain it in her customary weekly letter to Maud. Did she start with the revelation that Hetty, for all her faults, was actually one of the brightest in the class? That a Hallow was best friends with a Hubble? Maybe the incident involving the frog, the beetle, and the spider would be best to open with... No, maybe that was best left for another letter. She still had _no_ idea how they ended up in the pencil case.

She sighed, placing her pen down, and sitting back in her small but comfortable chair in the corner of the café. Mrs Cosie hadn't changed her tea rooms much since Mildred had last been, and she couldn't help but find it to be a comfort: no matter what was likely to change, Cosies Tea Rooms would always be that quaint little place where you could get a nice cup of tea, and a cake. It was odd, usually she never had enough space to say what she wanted to say to Maud, and yet for once in her life – at least when it came to speaking with her friend – Mildred Hubble was lost for words.

Speaking of words... There was a familiar tinny ringing, her phone beeping out the ring tone. Mildred had never intended to get a mobile phone, she hadn't really had much luck with technology in general, but her Mum and Dad had bought her this model when she got confirmation of the teaching position at Cackles, as a reward of sorts. Also, she suspected, as a subtle reminder to keep in touch more – letters were all well and good, but her Mum often expressed the wish to hear her voice more. The phone continued to ring out, and she picked up it, pressing the answer button, before speaking. "Hello?"

"Hubble."

"Nick," Mildred smiled a little. "It's good to hear from you, how's the research going?"

"It goes, but where it can't be revealed. State secret," Nick replied, a faint tinge of humour in his tone. It had been nearly five, or was it six, years since the incident with the Whisperer, and Mildred had been one of the few privy to seeing the change Nick Hobbes had made since then. His experiences in that incident had been the springboard for his research, and his papers were amongst some of the most highly spoken of for such a young writer. "How are you faring teaching obnoxious little brats then?"

"Nick..."

"Belladonna Bindweed is in one of your classes yes?" Nick cut off whatever Mildred was going to say, dismissing the warning tone in her voice. "She's my niece, and a perfect example of a spoiled little snot." Mildred couldn't help that laugh that came from that.

"Yes, Belladonna is in one of my classes," she clarified, "and for your information I find her to be quite charming, even if she reminds me of Ethel when I first knew her." She cringed as she said it. Really, Belladonna had been such a sweet girl in classes, but Mildred couldn't shake the image of a young Ethel Hallow from her mind whenever she spoke to the girl. It was entirely ridiculous, she knew, but it still didn't change the fact that it was there.

"Spoiled little snot, and that's the polite version," Nick repeated, giving a soft snort of disdain for his young niece. He never had gotten on with his family, and his elder sister's daughter really had picked up many of the worst qualities of the family. "Heard from Wraitheright," he said suddenly. "The deal's gone through." Oh, so _that's _why he was calling. She should have known. Nick Hobbes did not pick up the phone during a period of experiments unless he considered it a matter of absolute importance.

"I'm glad for them, they've put so much into those phones," Mildred replied honestly. "It would be nice to not have to leave the school to make a phone call," she added, smiling though he couldn't see it. "Is Ethel still the backer?"she enquired.

"I suppose, I haven't asked." There was a long pause, and Mildred could almost see the look on Nick's face, as if he was trying to determine what the hell she was hiding from him this time. He seemed to change his mind. "I'm getting invites from schools, to come and speak on Halloween."

"Do you know which one you'll go to?" Mildred asked, genuinely wondering. She knew some schools liked to use Halloween as a chance for special lectures, but she had never known if Nick's studies would really make such great topics for younger students.

"Not yet." There was an odd noise coming from Nick's side of the phone call – almost like someone calling his name in a panic. "Damn. My lab exploded. Got to go, Hubble."

"Wait, Nick, what do you mean explode-" It was too late, he had already hung up. Mildred sighed slightly, and set her phone to the side. "Exploded, really. Wonder what he'll need to pay out this time," she muttered softly, picking up her pen again, and looking back down towards the letter.

"_Perhaps it'd be best to start with the phone call I just received. Apparently Belladonna is Nick's niece. She's rather a lot like Ethel. Well, Ethel as she was, really..."_

**xXx**

"Here, Hettie, your cousin's really cool," Cressie looked up from the homework she had been doing. What was the cause for this sudden outburst? Well, the homework was from Miss Hubble's class – a simple essay to explain different ways in which magic might be performed, which meant that Cressie could write about her own experiences as a Hedge-Witch. True, it did cause a little pang of home-sickness, but it was fun to get to write and explain about different traditions and habits that her coven had. The bonus was she didn't need to do much research for it – Hettie was currently looking through a book on wand-magic, and Mona was scribbling equations for her 'science of magic' essay.

"I know," Hettie smiled proudly, only a tiny hint of smugness in her tone. "She's the best witch ever," she added, loyal till the end. She frowned at a page in her book, before slamming it shut. "Oh I don't know, wand magic seems so... pointless," she declared loudly, carelessly tossing the book back on to the table. "All that fuss when a finger does it just as well," she demonstrated with a grin, levitating the book back off the table. Mona rolled her eyes, and placed her hand on top of the book, sitting it back down, as Cressie giggled lightly in the background.

"If you'd _done_ the research," she began pointedly, "you'd know that it was initially used as a sign of power, sort of like how the Chief Wizard has the staff," she shrugged. "Ceremonial mostly, but those who did use them for magic said something about it concentrating the power – no scientific basis, of course, but," another shrug, "magic." The girls shared an eye-roll, and they seemed to settle down long enough to go back to their own respective works. Well, they would have, had Belladonna not chosen that moment to steal Cressie's essay from her.

"Hey! Give it back!" Cressie yelled, glaring at her. Belladonna gave a snort, reading through it.

"Hedgewitches really are just a bunch of hippies, aren't they?" She threw the paper back at Cressie. "My essay is far more interesting than that," she declared with a self-righteous smug tone. "I'm looking into family magic," she told everyone, though no one had actually asked. Belladonna turned her self-righteous and smug grin on Hettie, who fought to keep the bemused smile from appearing on her face at Belladonna's attitude. "You're not the only one with interesting family members, you know." she added snootily.

"I'm happy for you, Belladonna," Hettie said, nodding. "Really."

She managed a moment longer, before bursting into laughter.

**xXx**

"We've had an acceptance from one of the letters we sent out, Constance," Amelia spoke out loud, holding the letter close to read the messy handwriting. Really, these up and coming wizards in the field of magical research, they all needed to learn better penmanship in her opinion. "At least, I think that's what this is saying," she said, giving up and holding the letter out to Constance in the hopes that she would be able to decipher the mess on the paper. Constance took the paper, allowing herself a small tut on the general mess.

"Yes, I would have to agree." There was a pause, as the paper was handed back. "Two wizards presenting at our Hallowe'en celebrations, it's a first," she commented lightly, punctuating with a slightly unimpressed sniff. "Do you think we might be spoiling the girls?" she asked, having had a moment to consider the matter. "Two informative lectures on magic in the one night, they might begin to expect such things." Which, of course, would be far better than the displays of vanity they indulged in, in her opinion. Still overindulgence in any subject was overindulgence, and it would not do if it was thought they were spoiling the girls they had to duty to educate.

"No, I don't think so," Amelia said. "If anything, the girls might think we're punishing them."

"Whatever for?"

"Well, we are asking them to sit through two long lectures on the one night." She picked up her tea cup, and took a drink from it. "Young girls just don't seem as interested in lectures. Not at this age," she added. Constance looked perplexed. "Never mind, I'm sure they'll enjoy it at the end."


	3. Chapter 3

_**A/N:**__ Okay, so it's been a while. I am still working on this though! Please, accept my apologies and have this - sort of short - update!_

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Richard Avalon's imminent arrival to the school had stirred the girls into a flurry, the likes of which Constance Hardbroom was not pleased to see at all. It wasn't as though the wizard was anything particularly special. Oh, alright, so he had written the brilliantly informative _Treasures of Sorcery_, which had been a particular favourite of hers since she had first been given a copy by her sister. The reasonable part of her mind pointed out that this was more due to the fantastic nature of the treasures the book spoke about than the author himself. Yes, he was handsome in what might be called a classical way, and was rumoured to have very pleasing manners, but that was no reason for the girls to act in such an outrageous manner. He was here to teach them, that was all, and currently it was looking as though they would learn nothing other than how to decorate the backs of their workbooks with ridiculous doodle patterns.

"I have considered that very matter myself, Constance," Amelia had assured her when Constance raised her concerns to her in the staff room. She patted her mouth with a napkin, getting rid of the few crumbs of cheesecake that had stuck to the corner of her mouth. "But you could hardly expect me to reject the offer," she said. "Mr. Avalon very rarely offers to come to Witch Schools, let alone teach a week of classes at one."

"I caught a lecture of his in my last year of Weirdsister's," Dee Swoop spoke up happily, a cheery smile on her face as she attended to mending the tennis nets. Constance still didn't see a point for a Sports Mistress in a school of magic, but had at least come to agree that offering a healthy outlet for their pent up energy other than broomstick flying meant that the girls were far less likely to try those silly flying stunts that had become popular in recent years. "He's a fantastic speaker, the girls are in for a real treat," she said, her smile growing at the memory. "And the demonstrations – I've never seen magic like it!"

"Magic like what?" Mildred Hubble came through the staff room door, stumbling and almost dropping her pile of marking. "Sugar," she muttered under her breath, quickly moving her hands to regain her grasp.

"You remember, Millie," Dee took half of the pile from her, and sat it safely on the table. "Richard Avalon's guest lecture?" Mildred continued to look slightly confused, the memory clearly not coming to mind at the current moment. "You remember, a whole group of us went? Ethel took a notebook, she wanted to interview him for her dissertation?" A slowly dawning looking appeared on Mildred's face, and Dee clapped her on the shoulder.

"Oh yes, I couldn't believe it when she managed to do it. I'd heard he didn't give interviews to students," she said, sitting down at the table, and opening one of the workbooks. Picking up a red pen, ready to start her marking, she looked up at the other teachers, a slight frown clear on her face. "Um," she bit her bottom lip, "why were yo... we talking about Richard Avalon?" she asked nervously. Constance fixed her with a hard look, the kind that made anyone quaver under it, no matter how long it had been since they had been a school pupil.

"If you had been paying attention to the Halloween event planning," she said with a haughty sniff, "you would know that Mr. Avalon has very kindly offered to come the week leading up to the holiday, and offer a special course for our girls." There was an impressive silence following this. Mildred's eyes widened.

"Oh, that would explain why they've all been so excited lately," she said almost absent mindedly. Then, as if remembering herself, she quickly added, "well, more than usual I mean. Who wouldn't be excited about a treat like that?" Her enthusiasm was very likely not faked, Constance was aware as she watched the girl back peddle and gabbled about how the lecture she and her friends had attended at Weirdsister's had been a real joy. Still, it would have been preferable if she left the gabbling behind with her younger self.

"Exactly," Amelia's voice cut into Constance's thoughts, and she immediately directed her attention to the headmistress. "Which is why it would be rude to cancel," the words were directly solely at Constance, and Mildred was amazed that the woman's cheeks did not flush with embarrassment the way hers surely would have, had she been the one in that situation. "The girls will no doubt gain a great deal of knowledge from this venture, and if all we have to pay is a little bit of girlish giggling over a handsome wizard, well, I'm sure we can all bear it." Amelia stood.

"Where will he be staying?" Constance's question was pointed, and the underlying meaning was clear to everyone. "I expect he'll have taken lodgings in the village," she continued without a pause. "He can't stay here..."

"Actually, he's expressed interest in the Foxglove-Hairbell room," Amelia said, in a very matter of fact tone. "Historical relevance, you understand," she added, moving quickly towards the door. "I've agreed he can stay there." And with that, she left the staff room. There was half a seconds pause before Constance followed, clearly protesting against this – so very foolish – course of action. Still in the staff room, Dee and Mildred exchanges glances, soft laugh coming from both ladies at the whole situation. They sat in companionable silence, each working on their respective tasks.

"So, what is this Foxglove-Hairbell room?" Dee asked. "Never heard of it myself, we didn't have established rooms like that at Pentangle's," she said. "Too new a building, you understand," she explained, "we were more about looking to the future than keeping to the traditions like here. Still, it's nice for the girls, to have history to their school," Dee's tone was pleasant, and the smile showed that she meant what she said. Mildred nodded, before frowning at she tried to recollect the lessons from her own time of education at Cackle's.

"She was a research witch, I think," she said slowly. "After the Baron's time, but before the castle was really established as a place of education." Mildred worried her bottom lip, deep in thought. "She was one of the witches we had to look at in our last year, for History," this was just conversational, buying her time to think. Eventually she shook her head, shrugging her shoulders. "I can remember reading that she was especially skilled in one area of magic, but I can't remember what it was." She shook her head again. "The room was established due to the fact that she came up with something amazing while staying there, but that's about all I can remember," Mildred said.

"Well, that's something though, isn't it?" Dee set down the tennis nets, pleased with her efforts at repairing them. "History right in your own school!"

"Yes, I suppose so," Mildred picked up the pen again, and set to her marking. "I wonder why he wants to stay there though," she said lightly, "I don't think anyone's been in there in years."


End file.
